The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 09, 1993, Page 5, Image 5
Unplugged 8
#
By CARSON HENDERSON
Staff Writer
In the press room after the May 7
Paul McCartney concert at
Williams-Brice Stadium, Andi, a
young woman from Clinton I had
met, said she had been stoned on
pot in college when someone told
her that McCartney actually was
dead and an impostor had filled his
shoes for more than 20 years.
Unable to recognize that she was
the victim of a prank, Andi told me
she cried for hours.
What Mcdartnev needs is some
thing, perhaps illegal substances, to
kickstart his creative rock V roll
juices again. McCartney was arrested
for drug possession in Sweden
and Scotland in 1972, in Scotland
again in 1973, and in Japan in 1980.
McCartney has also admitted to
using drugs during the late 1960s,
uie waning aays 01 me beattes.
Is it a coincidence that his most
rewarding and lasting artistic periods
have been when he was, at least
to the public's knowledge, using
drugs?
Which is not to imply that
McCartney's Columbia concert was
dull and uninspiring. In fact, quite
the opposite; he displayed agility
and energy galore for a 50-year-old,
but his once unpredictable clectrici
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ty was nowhere to be found. The
lack of risks on the current tour was
best exemplified by the middleaged
man sitting behind me who
kept yelling out the names of the
songs before the band started playing.
It turns out the man had seen
McCartney the week before in
Atlanta. There is no greater sin in
McCartney performs at Williams-Br
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rock 'n' roll than to play the same
set every show. Stoned musicians
do not do this. A lack of controlled
substances has definitely hindered
McCartney; he did not play a single
song he recorded between the years
ot 1980 and 1993, a period of relative
sobriety for him. No use playing
created without conviction.
McCartney, who played bass,
acoustic guitar, and piano, was supported
by a crack band with an
impressive musical pedigree: drummer
Blair Cunnignham, formerly of
the Pretenders; lead guitarist
Robbie Mcintosh, also of the
Pretenders; keyboardist Paul
Wickens, a sought-after session
musician; rhythm guitarist Hamish
Stuart, formerly of the Average
White Band; and keyboardist Linda
McCartney, Paul's wife and background
singer since 1969. When he
played bass, McCartney, along with
Eric Glenn/The Gamecock
ice Stadium May 7.
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Cunningham, anchored a ferocious
rhythm section; and Mcintosh once
again proved that he is an underrated
guitarist.
McCartney opened with "Drive
My Car," a spry Beatles tune.
"Coming Up," a wonderful pop
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thesized horns, just as it was on
record 13 years ago. "Looking for
Changes," an animal rights song
from McCartney's current album,
"Off the Ground," and "Let Me
Roll It," an early '70s number,
rocked in a fashion that I did not
think McCartney was still capable
of.
But after nine songs and a short
guitar solo from Mcintosh, an
unplugged nightmare began.
In 1990, McCartney was one of
the first superstars to perform on
"Unplugged," MTV's back-tobasics
show. He was also the first
artist to release a live record taken
from his MTV acoustic session.
Since then, Eric Clapton, Mariah
Carey, Arrested Development, Rod
Stewart, and Bruce Springsteen
have released "Unplugged" recordings.
Clapton, who is further proof
that sobriety kills rock 'n' roll
instinct, has been on cruise control
for as long as I can remember.
Carey and Arrested Development
proved that synthesizers and samplers
do not work without electricity.
Stewart has been unmotivated
lor ai least as long as L-iapion.
Springsteen, whose MTV performance
actually featured electricity,
has released his record only in
Europe. McCartney's record has
been disgraced by three years of
really lousy performances, excluding
Springsteen's.
1 was shocked that McCartney
had the nerve to perform acousticRimini
based songs for the better part of an
hour. Acoustic guitar and piano,
percussion, tambourine, and accordion
were well higlighted during his
interlude. "We Can Work It Out,"
"And I Love Her," and "Yesterday"
worked because they were largely
acoustic in their original forms.
Solo songs such as "Every
Night," "Biker Like an Icon" and
"Hope of Deliverance" cliu hoi
compare. During "My Love," with
its chorus of "My love does it
good," I wondered to what attribute
of Linda's is Paul referring to. Sex?
Cooking? Balancing the cheekbook?
It sure as hell isn't singing.
Linda, whose cooing is notorious,
was either lip-syncing the entire
evening, or Paul had unplugged her.
The unbearable part of the
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artists butcher the format, and*
bands such as Guns n' Roses have
recently attempted to prove in concert
how rural their sound is. Take a
hint: plug back in! Leave it to Elvis
Costello, Bob Dylan, and Neil
Young, who have all played successful
acoustic sets for years.
Young, who is still known to occassionally
partake, will release a
record culled from his MTV
"Unplugged" session this month.
McCartney's final songs of the
evening were a greatest hits spectacle:
"Paperback Writer," "Fixin" a
Hole," "Penny Lane," and "Sgt.
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Band." The encore included "Band
on the Run." "I Saw Her Standing
There," and "Hey Jude." Seven
classic rock n' roll numbers that
displayed why McCartney is one of
the greatest songwriters ever.
(However, to this reviewer's ears.
McCartney's songwriting will never
equal John Lennon's.)
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